Herbert Hoover 1874–1964

Herbert Hoover was born in Iowa and moved to Oregon at age eleven. Hoover attended Stanford University, gained a degree in geology, and had a successful career in mining, becoming a millionaire at age forty. During World War I, Hoover gained international fame for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the people of Belgium. In 1917 he was appointed the head of the U.S. government’s Food Administration. Following the war, his stature grew as he oversaw relief programs for Europe. Hoover declined efforts by figures in the Democratic Party to entice him to run for office. A registered Republican, Hoover instead served as secretary of commerce in the administrations of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. He won the presidential election in 1928, but the increasing economic strains of the Great Depression undermined his popularity, and he was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. He remained active in party politics and later served as an adviser on humanitarian issues and government reform.